The present invention is directed, in general, to data storage devices and, more specifically, to a data storage drive, a method of manufacturing the data storage drive, and a data storage array employing the data storage drive.
A disk drive assembly is a data storage device from which data may be read and/or to which such data may be written. Typically, a disk drive assembly includes one or more randomly-accessible storage media (e.g., disks) upon which data is encoded by various means. In a magnetic disk drive, the data is encoded thereon as bits of information comprising magnetic field reversals grouped in tracks on the surface of the storage medium. Alternatively, the disk drive may be an optical disk drive reading/writing optical field reversals rather than magnetic field reversals.
A motor imparts movement to the storage media. A read head is positionable proximate the storage media to read the data from the storage media. For a magnetic disk drive, the read head detects magnetic field signal changes on the magnetic media. Such detection may be discerned from changes in the resistance of the read head responsive to changes in the direction and amount of magnetic flux being sensed by the read head.
The read head is supported by a read arm. Movement may be imparted to the read arm, and, hence, to the read head by appropriate actuation of the read arm, such as by a voice coil motor (VCM). Successive read and write operations can be selectively performed by suitably positioning and repositioning the read head and an associated write read proximate selected locations of the storage media.
Advancements in technology have permitted the development and implementation of successive generations of disk drive assemblies of ever-improving performance characteristics and memory capacities, of ever-smaller physical sizes, and at ever-lesser costs. However, existing disk drive assemblies are becoming less able to provide adequate performance and storage capacity, in view of the demands of the devices in which disk drives are employed, including decreased physical size and increased performance of the devices themselves.
Disk drive product lines employing a recording medium of 1.0 inches to 1.8 inches, such as the IBM MicroDrive product line, are some of the recent attempts at providing increased performance and storage capacity with disk drives having a sufficiently small physical size to fit within the physical confines of modern portable and desktop electronics. However, these drives also suffer from disadvantages, including increased power consumption that leads to shorter battery life for mobile devices and limited usability. One factor contributing to this increased power consumption is the significant masses of the moving parts in the MicroDrive. One skilled in the art understands that moving parts having significant masses require significant power to operate, the additional power being attributable to overcoming the momentum of the moving parts. The significant masses of these moving parts also render the device more susceptible to performance degradation attributable to physical shock, such as by mis-handling by the user.
In addition, the electrical performance of devices containing conventional disk drives can be disadvantageous. Problems associated with electrical performance of conventional disk drives may be attributable to the considerable distance separating the physical disk drive and the other electronics of the devices, including the read control electronics. Such problems have long been believed to be unavoidable, in view of the conventional configuration of mounting the integrated circuit electronics separate from the disk drive.
Accordingly, what is needed in the art is a data storage drive that overcomes the above-described disadvantages of conventional disk drives.
To address the above-discussed deficiencies of the prior art, the present invention provides a data storage drive, a method of manufacturing the same, and a drive array that includes multiple such disk storage drives. In one embodiment, the disk storage drive includes: (1) a substrate, (2) a motor located on the substrate, (3) a data storage medium coupled to the motor for movement thereby and (4) a Micro Electrical Mechanical Systems (MEMS) read arm located on the substrate, having a read head and capable of responding to control signals by moving to cause the read head to traverse portions of the data storage medium thereby to read data therefrom.
Accordingly, the present invention presents the concept of providing a MEMS level data storage drive wherein one or more of the components of the data storage drive are MEMS components. By employing one or more MEMS components, the data storage drive may require significantly lower power consumption due to the reduced masses inside the storage drive. This decreased power consumption may provide increased battery life in the devices employing the data storage drive. The reduced mass of the data storage drive may also provide improved mechanical shock performance, such mechanical shock normally attributable to mis-handling by a user of the device.
In addition, the electrical performance of the data storage drive may be superior to other disk drive technologies, in view of the close proximity of the data storage drive to the integrated circuit interconnects, which thereby requires shorter interconnect paths. Those having skill in the art understand that shorter interconnect paths allow for increased signal output and an accompanying decrease in electronic noise as compared to the interconnect paths of conventional disk drives. Additionally, shorter interconnect paths are also less susceptible to damage.
Additionally, the data storage device of the present invention may be very small. For instance, in one embodiment, the data storage device may have lateral dimensions less than about 500 xcexcm. In that regard, it may be the first known data storage device having the disk drive inside an integrated circuit chip, instead of having the chip inside the disk drive.
The present invention may also provide the potential to link many data storage drives together inside an integrated circuit, such that their performance input/output may be a parallel process instead of a serial process, as required by conventional disk drives. This potential may allow integrated circuit storage devices to operate as a miniature and/or mobile integrated circuit server.
In one embodiment of the present invention, the motor may be selected from the group consisting of: (1) a rotary motor and (2) a linear motor. The motor may also be MEMS motor. The motor may be formed integral to the substrate of the data storage drive.
In one embodiment of the present invention, the data storage medium may be disk-shaped or circular. However, the data storage medium may also be other shapes, including rectangular or box-shaped. To that end, the data storage medium may be rotated or translated underneath the MEMS read arm for access to the data thereon. The data storage medium may also spin continuously.
In one embodiment of the present invention, the data storage medium may be selected from the group consisting of: (1) a magnetic medium and (2) an optical medium. Accordingly, the read head may be an optical read head or a magnetic read head. The read head may also be a read/write head. The MEMS read arm may also include more than one read head.
In one embodiment of the present invention, the MEMS read arm may be a first MEMS read arm, and the data storage drive may further include a second MEMS read arm located on the substrate and having a second read head. The first and second MEMS read arms may cooperate to respond to the control signals to read data from the data storage medium.
The foregoing has outlined preferred and alternative features of the present invention so that those skilled in the art may better understand the detailed description of the invention that follows. Additional features of the invention will be described hereinafter that form the subject of the claims of the invention. Those skilled in the art should appreciate that they can readily use the disclosed conception and specific embodiment as a basis for designing or modifying other structures for carrying out the same purposes of the present invention. Those skilled in the art should also realize that such equivalent constructions do not depart from the spirit and scope of the invention.